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Meet Miami’s Robocop

Nobody seems to know what the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office’s new all-seeing, self-driving, A.I.-infused police van will actually do, or how much it cost. What’s the worst that could happen?

miami dad sheriffs office Police Unmanned Ground Vehicle
Presented as the first autonomous police cruiser, the PUG is merely the latest example of law enforcement’s appetite for algorithms and analytics to enhance their capabilities. Photo: Courtesy of Policing Lab
Ian Krietzberg
October 28, 2025

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Earlier this month, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office unveiled the newest member of its police force: a “Police Unmanned Ground Vehicle,” or PUG, an A.I.-enhanced police cruiser outfitted with self-driving technology developed by Perrone Robotics. The PUG can access real-time crime data and A.I. analytics; is loaded with 360-degree cameras, thermal imaging, and automated license plate readers; and has a drone lashed to the roof. A press release referred to it as a “force multiplier”—a phrase that crops up over and over among the hundreds of initiatives to infuse A.I. into police departments around the world.